Show me the most UNDER-rated science fiction in your library.
What are the unsung masterpieces of science fiction? Who blew you away but got no awards? Which are the novels that don't get the attention they deserve? Which books do you bring up in conversation where people say "Huh? Never heard of it!"?
Show me the five-star novels that you found collecting dust in some used bookstore somewhere.
Best Science Fiction
Some Subgenres:
Alternate H*story [asterisk here so this list isn't misclassified]
Dystopian and Post Apocalyptic Fiction
Space Opera
Science Fiction By Year:
Classic Science Fiction - 1930-1939
Classic Science Fiction - 1940-1949
Classic Science Fiction - 1950-1959
Classic Science Fiction - 1960-1969
Classic Science Fiction - 1970-1979
Classic Science Fiction - 1980-1989
Classic Science Fiction - 1990-1999
Classic Science Fiction - 2000-2009
Science Fiction - 2010-2019
Most Popular Fantasy on Goodreads:
All fantasy with at least 100,000 ratings
Most Popular Science Fiction on Goodreads:
All science fiction with at least 50,000 ratings
All science fiction with 25,000 to 49,999 ratings
All science fiction with 10,000 to 24,999 ratings
All science fiction with 1,000 to 9,999 ratings
All science fiction with 100 to 999 ratings
Best Science Fiction on Goodreads with less than 100 ratings
What are the unsung masterpieces of science fiction? Who blew you away but got no awards? Which are the novels that don't get the attention they deserve? Which books do you bring up in conversation where people say "Huh? Never heard of it!"?
Show me the five-star novels that you found collecting dust in some used bookstore somewhere.
Best Science Fiction
Some Subgenres:
Alternate H*story [asterisk here so this list isn't misclassified]
Dystopian and Post Apocalyptic Fiction
Space Opera
Science Fiction By Year:
Classic Science Fiction - 1930-1939
Classic Science Fiction - 1940-1949
Classic Science Fiction - 1950-1959
Classic Science Fiction - 1960-1969
Classic Science Fiction - 1970-1979
Classic Science Fiction - 1980-1989
Classic Science Fiction - 1990-1999
Classic Science Fiction - 2000-2009
Science Fiction - 2010-2019
Most Popular Fantasy on Goodreads:
All fantasy with at least 100,000 ratings
Most Popular Science Fiction on Goodreads:
All science fiction with at least 50,000 ratings
All science fiction with 25,000 to 49,999 ratings
All science fiction with 10,000 to 24,999 ratings
All science fiction with 1,000 to 9,999 ratings
All science fiction with 100 to 999 ratings
Best Science Fiction on Goodreads with less than 100 ratings
Comments Showing 1-50 of 88 (88 new)
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Adam
(new)
Dec 16, 2009 06:36PM
Virtual War, Found, Double Identity, Sent, and Running out of Time are all amazing but barely have any ratings.
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It is hard to see how Hitchhikers could belong on this list, given that it has 150,000+ ratings (more than forty times the number of ratings that the top book on this list has), and an average of over four stars. Unless the idea is that Adams is underrated as SF, but plentifully rated as humor. It doesn't work for me. But if it works for Rob, then I guess it is OK.
Antoine wrote: "But if it works for Rob, then I guess it is OK. "Why single me out? I didn't vote for Hitchhiker's... as underrated. (I like it, but it's hardly underrated.)
Susanna wrote: "Do you want me to remove it, Rob?"Makes no difference to me if people vote for it; I just created the list for folks to enjoy. All I was saying in my reply was that even though the book appears in the list, I didn't vote for it--and I'd hope that folks wouldn't suggest that I did.
Rob wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Do you want me to remove it, Rob?"Makes no difference to me if people vote for it; I just created the list for folks to enjoy. All I was saying in my reply was that even though t..."
I would remove it. It's annoying seeing the same books at the top of every list, regardless of what the list name is. "Hitchhiker's" appears in top 5 always. For goodness sake, there was a movie. I think any books that are in top 10 "best sf" cannot be in this list.
After much deliberation, I have removed HHGTTG from the list. It's popular and it's fun, but it's on entirely too many other lists and has been read and highly-rated by entirely too many people to be "under-rated". (Sorry to the folks that voted for it, but it doesn't fit the spirit of this list.)
I imagine this would definitely be a tricky list to police.I just added Dreamsnake and moved it to the top of my list. It's the only Hugo-Nebula-Locus winning novel that is now out of print (and has been for over a decade).
Unless someone objects, I'm going to remove "Handmaiden's Tale" - no way is that underrated. It is one of top 3 sf novels people think of (along with 1984 and Hitchhiker's Guide).
Going to remove The Silent Tower and Silicon Mage (Windrose Chronicles) by Barbara Hambly - not science fiction.
Going to remove Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman - although a great book, it is fantasy, not science fiction.Going to remove the individual Stainless Steel Rat books by Harry Harrison which are included in Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat (#1-3) (curr. highest ranking).
I'm going to delete Arana's Visitor by Julie Rollins. There are 7 people who voted, all with # books in their library and # of friends in single digits; those people consistently vote ONLY for the 4 books in Julie Rollins' series for all Lists. (Same on Amazon.com - all the reviews for these books are from people with only 1 review each - clearly fraudulent.)
I'm surprised the City and the City made the list: it's been nominated or won more awards than many a book I've seen in some time: " It has won the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, Arthur C. Clarke Award, World Fantasy Award and BSFA Award; tied with Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl for the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel; and was nominated for a Nebula Award and John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.", even getting some press outside of sci-fi / fantasy circles.But as said earlier, it's rather difficult to say what's underrated...
Ninja wrote: "I'm surprised the City and the City made the list..."Given that many awards (and/or nominations) then I'd say that it doesn't really belong here. I'm currently reading it and loving it, but given those facts... *not* underrated. I've removed it.
Which makes me question The Lathe of Heaven - nominated for the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus - how is that "under-rated"?
Yeah, the Lathe of Heaven also came to mind. I really enjoyed it, but I don't know that it's underrated either.
Ninja wrote: "Yeah, the Lathe of Heaven also came to mind. I really enjoyed it, but I don't know that it's underrated either." What awards has it won? I'm familiar with Le Guin, of course, and am fairly well versed in sf/f field, but "Lathe of Heaven" was completely off my radar. In fact, it's this list that made me take a note. Perhaps because it didn't win and it should have that it can be considered underrated? I
If I'm going to disagree with anything, it's all the other top 10 books - Alfred Bester - yes he's great, but has anyone not read these? Or especially John Scalzi's "Old Man's War" - hugely popular, almost like "Ender's Game" in that it got people who didn't read military scif into the genre. But for those who HAVE read a lot of Sf/f, and that who the audience for this list is, in my opinion, "Old Man's War" is a rehash of "Starship Troopers" plus "Forever War" plus "Armor" with a touch of "Spin State" or "Altered Carbon," take your pick. In my humble opinion.
And Neal Stephenson? Overrated if anything.
Lathe "received nominations for the 1972 Hugo[1] and the 1971 Nebula Award,[2] and won the Locus Award for Best Novel in 1972.[1] Two television film adaptations have been released"But perhaps not as famous as her other works, I suppose.
I haven't read Bester, nor Scalzi *grins*.
Didn't realise Old Man's War was quite that recently - thought it might have been a 90s novel - but maybe that just attests to its fame.
Actually, re-reviewing the top 50 or so, I'd say Day of the Triffids stands out. Much more so than any of the others.
We do reach a point where a books "underrated-ness" starts to become a matter of splitting hairs. Anastasia brings up a good point there w/ "Lathe of Heaven" and/or "Old Man's War" -- depending on what your approach to a given novel is, it's a matter of perception. I'm starting to think awards nominations (and/or WINNING an award...) is probably a decent litmus test. But still not necessarily definitive.
I'd agree. For example, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang won a Hugo and was nominated for the Nebula, but I get the feeling it's generally considered to be somewhat lesser known novel (perhaps because the author didn't continue writing sci-fi?)
Ninja wrote: "I'd agree. For example, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang...Exactly! (Another great example.) Totally agree there (even if it undermines my theory) -- there you have something that's considered to be a classic among folks who've read it; but you'd be hard-pressed to find too many folks who've read it. (That last bit there being one of those "in my experience..." type remarks.)
So much for making the selection and/or winnowing process easier... ;-)
What I did when I went through this list several months ago (and I did delete more books than I mentioned here...) was cross-reference it against the "Best Scifi Eva" lists - if a book was in the top 20 best ever list, then it isn't underrated. That's a fair approach in my opinion.
The Lathe of Heaven is underrated? LOL.Two that pop in to my head:
Gateway - Yes it won some awards back in the 70s but it seems like no one reads it or appreciates it.
Nova - Delany's retelling of Moby Dick (and shorter!) where he foreshadows cyberpunk and man/computer interfacing 20 years before it became popular.
I added Lilith's Brood to this list as it is one of the best scifi books I have ever read, and most people I speak with have never even heard of Octavia Butler let alone read this one. Also, I have added In Conquest Born. Again, it is a favorite scifi of mine and few people I know have read it... If my perceptions of their popularity are in err than feel free to remove them and I will rest happy, knowing that more people than I thought enjoyed these gems.
I restricted my votes to books with fewer that 10,000 Goodreads ratings - arbitrary, but I thought anything over that wasn't really under-rated.
Hyperion underated? Should put Dune on as well then :)I only read Hyperion because it was at, or near the top of every top Sci-fi list...and for good reason.
Larchi wrote: "Hyperion underated? Should put Dune on as well then :)"Good point... As a Hugo Award winner, I'm to go ahead and say that it's not under-rated. I have removed it.
Average rating of the top 10 on my list is less than 1000, one of them has 11 ratings, another one, 8 ! And I'm saying these are good books worthy of more attention.
Sarah Pi wrote: "I imagine this would definitely be a tricky list to police.I just added Dreamsnake and moved it to the top of my list. It's the only Hugo-Nebula-Locus winning novel that is now out of print (and ..."
Great read!
How could Canticle for Liebowitz be rated any higher ? It's on every list of must-read SF, often nominated as the best example of the genre ?
I don't really see how Ursula K Leguin can be number one, she is one of the most recognized and praised writer of either fantasy or science fiction. Maybe it's on there because it is a rather obscure novel by her, but still I wouldn't put the Children of Hurin on an underrated fantasy list, because even though it is obscure compared to the authors other works, the author is so well known, they would know what kind of book you were talking about if you just mentioned who the author was.
I couldn't find them, but I had to add A Princess of Mars and Bio of A Space Tyrant, Usually nobody knows who Edgar Rice Burroughs is, and they only know Tarzan from the disney movie, I've never met another person who had ever heard of the Barsoom novels, and all the critical reviews I've read of the book trash it, at least the teacher's I've heard reference it on courses on Sci-Fi.
Same goes for Bio of a Space Tyrant, everyone who has read it(at least on goodreads) trashes it for having too much rape. I say Piers Anthony is a damn fine writer and I absoulutely adored the first two books, if number one was a bit disturbing, but just because something is disturbing doesn't mean it's bad, like Titus Andronicus.
I couldn't find them, but I had to add A Princess of Mars and Bio of A Space Tyrant, Usually nobody knows who Edgar Rice Burroughs is, and they only know Tarzan from the disney movie, I've never met another person who had ever heard of the Barsoom novels, and all the critical reviews I've read of the book trash it, at least the teacher's I've heard reference it on courses on Sci-Fi.
Same goes for Bio of a Space Tyrant, everyone who has read it(at least on goodreads) trashes it for having too much rape. I say Piers Anthony is a damn fine writer and I absoulutely adored the first two books, if number one was a bit disturbing, but just because something is disturbing doesn't mean it's bad, like Titus Andronicus.
This is a great topic for a list, Rob. If only all the readers who voted here would have understood the meaning of the word "underrated".
I removed the following books:The Host - 335k+ ratings and a Hollywood movie
Mega Man X Official Game Secrets - not fiction
Inferno and The Reluctant King are both fantasy.
I want to throw in my 2¢ that The Lathe of Heaven is entirely deserving of its spot at the top of this list. It is well-loved by those that know it, but remains a relatively unknown book, inexplicably. It was certainly under-rated by the 1972 Hugo voters..
So why don't we say that any book with more than 25,000 ratings should be removed. And if someone wants to vote for such a book they should do it on https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Mitchell wrote: "So why don't we say that any book with more than 25,000 ratings should be removed. And if someone wants to vote for such a book they should do it on https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3..."Hi Mitchell,
Just looking at rating count does not capture what it means for a book to be underrated. A book may have been read by a lot of people, but still be underrated because it was under-appreciated. In fact, the more people that under-appreciate a book, the more it makes that book "most underrated". Sheer number of readers may be one factor in judging underratedness, but rating value is the bigger factor.
Removed Never Let Me Go as I think it has far too many ratings for this list.NibbledToDeathByCats: There's a list for underrated books, ie. those with an average GR rating of less than 3.7.
Andy wrote: "Removed Never Let Me Go as I think it has far too many ratings for this list.NibbledToDeathByCats: There's a list for underrated books, ie. those with an average GR rating of less than 3.7."
Not sure I follow your meaning. Just because something has a low rating doesn't mean it is underrated.
Well, the idea of the list is to vote for your favourites that may have been read by many people but not rated as high as you think they deserve.https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Andy wrote: "Well, the idea of the list is to vote for your favourites that may have been read by many people but not rated as high as you think they deserve.https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1......"
I like that this list does not set artificial criteria like that. I see the term "underrated" as representing a combination of factors, often nuanced.
Some other related lists could use your votesScience Fiction By Year:
Classic Science Fiction - 1930-1939
Classic Science Fiction - 1940-1949
Classic Science Fiction - 1950-1959
Classic Science Fiction - 1960-1969
Classic Science Fiction - 1970-1979
Classic Science Fiction - 1980-1989
Classic Science Fiction - 1990-1999
Classic Science Fiction - 2000-2009
Science Fiction - 2010-2019
Most Popular Science Fiction on Goodreads:
All science fiction with at least 50,000 ratings
All science fiction with 25,000 to 49,999 ratings
All science fiction with 10,000 to 24,999 ratings
All science fiction with 1,000 to 9,999 ratings
Removed for appearing in Top 100 of the Best of SF megalists*:Lathe of Heaven
The Stars Are My Destination
Anathem
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Flowers for Algernon
Doomsday Book
Necromancer
Old Man's War
*https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...)
*https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
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